New school to open in rented classrooms

Nonprofit School for Tomorrow taking applications for September session

A Chevy Chase resident says he is excited about opening a school this fall that he hopes will revolutionize the way students learn.

Alan Shusterman has rented three classrooms within the Children's Learning Center in Aspen Hill and plans to open his independent, nonprofit School for Tomorrow in September.

"Most schools are the same as when as I was a kid and we really need a fresh perspective in education," he said.

Shusterman, a graduate of the former Charles W. Woodward High School in North Bethesda, said he started out with a job in corporate law before realizing he wanted to go into teaching.

After three years of teaching social studies at Sandy Spring Friends School, he decided that his true calling was to open a school that answered the questions: What do high school graduates need to know and what tools do they need to be able to succeed in college, the workplace and life in the 21st century?

The 43-year-old plans to start with 10 to 30 students in sixth through ninth grades and eventually expand through 12th grade.

He expects to charge about $25,000 a year in tuition.

Shusterman said three students have applied to attend the school and five more have expressed interest since he began recruiting students last month.

Shusterman said School for Tomorrow will use an "individualized, innovative approach" modeled after home schooling, which allows students to learn at their own pace and in their own way.

He schooled his daughter at home for a year, he said.

Students will learn math, reading, writing and other traditional subjects, but they will work with teachers to decide what and how to study. As for homework, he said the only requirement will likely be asking students to read for 30 minutes each night.

"If the school day is designed to be efficient, there's no reason why you can't get your school work done during the day," Shusterman said.

Amy Favin of Rockville said she is excited about the prospect of sending her 12-year-old son, David Waldman, to the School for Tomorrow. He is a seventh-grader at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in North Bethesda.

"My son is very bright and he does very well in terms of grades, but he gets bored easily because he's often ready to move on in a subject when the curriculum doesn't call for moving on yet," she said. "We're interested particularly in the individualized attention that he would receive at the School for Tomorrow because they're going to put each child on his or her own academic track. We think he'll thrive more than he is now."

Dottie Harris, admissions director for the Children's Learning Center, said the center, which offers classes for students in nursery school through fifth grade and child care, is happy to welcome the School for Tomorrow.

"We feel our children could possibly matriculate into their school and they may have siblings that could, in turn, benefit from one of our schools or our child care center," she said.

The School for Tomorrow will host open houses for interested students and families 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, with a presentation at 4 p.m., and 7:30 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18, with a presentation at 8 p.m. The school is renting classrooms at 4511 Bestor Drive in Aspen Hill. To RSVP, e-mail schoolfortomorrow@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.